Beautiful Disaster
by realityescapist
Summary: “My turn,” Scorpius said, shifting the focus. “What would you buy me?” "I’d find a way to make it so that everyone stopped hating you for mistakes that your father made.” Rose/Scorpius- rated M for language and future lemons.
1. Bend and Break

1. Bend and Break

_**Author's Note: **_**The title of this story is a song by Kelly Clarkson, this chapter title is a song by Keane and I also have a slightly concealed My Chemical Romance hint in the first couple of paragraphs. I don't own these, and I don't own Harry Potter either. Also... Scorpius calls Rose 'Red', a nickname that I'm sure I stole from somewhere else. Not sure though. xD**

**A quick word to start us off: many of my dates and ages may not be correct, but hopefully I've manipulated them realistically enough to make them seem plausible. Roxanne (17) is the younger child of Fred and Angelina, canon by HP Lexicon; Louis (17) is the youngest child and only son of Bill and Fleur, also canon; and Rebecca (11) is the daughter of Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott. She, however, is not canon- I made her up myself.**

**They are all in Gryffindor except for Scorpius, who is in Ravenclaw. If I do something stupid and mention the wrong house for someone, please tell me. xD I don't want to confuse anyone.**

**If you have any questions you need to ask, please feel free to do so, along with comments, corrections (I don't have a beta) and reviews. (: I will try to answer any reviews I get, because I love the idea of people reading my work and enjoying what I write.**

Rose watched the bland, endlessly indistinctive scenery flash past through the rattling glass pane of her Hogwarts Express compartment window. She leaned her head tiredly against the glass, stifling a yawn and closing her blue eyes as she attempted to ignore the chaos around her. Fit into the reasonably snug compartment was her younger brother, Hugo; her cousins, Lily and James; little first year Rebecca Longbottom; and Hugo's owl, Yaron, who had an awful habit of screaming at the top of his teeny owl lungs. As if to add to all of this noise, James had brought along his Wizard Wireless radio, and was playing My Chemical Love Potion at full volume. Rose squeezed her eyes shut tighter, shifting her body away from the sharp corner of her brother's school trunk that was pressing into her from the seat beside her as best she could.

Not only was the space over-crowded with people, but school trunks were squashed positively everywhere. Hugo's, Lily's, James', Rebecca's, her own and Yaron's cage took up enough room, but Roxanne, Louis and Albus had also piled their luggage in the compartment. Luckily for them, they got to sit elsewhere. Head Girl Roxanne and Prefect Albus had a compartment to share with the rest of the student staff, and Gryffindor Quidditch Captain Louis had escaped into one of his many groups of friends' compartment.

"Can you turn the music down?" Rose burst out suddenly, blinking her eyes open in annoyance, her voice tight. She didn't get an answer. "Can you turn the music down, **please**?"

Rebecca, who sat playing cards with Hugo, glanced at Rose. Rose's irritated voice conveniently hadn't floated into James' eardrums yet, however, so she aimed a sharp kick to the ankle of her cousin. James – who had been sitting opposite Rose, eyes closed, as his head nodded to the music – started slightly, looking at her and mouthing snappishly, "**What**?!"

Sighing irritably and muttering something only partially coherent about 'fuck' and 'why bother', Rose stood and clambered over her huge family's various items of luggage until she got to the compartment door. Shaking a foil Chocolate Frog wrapping off of her shoe, she yanked on the door and made her exit, slamming it behind her. A group of first years loitering in the lengthy train corridor went silent and stared until Rose backed off to the very end of the carriage. As a rule, the Potter-Weasley family always got a compartment in the last car of the train. If they happened to be late, a compartment was almost always left for them. James and Louis were good at bullying their way into getting what they wanted; and the back car was what they wanted because of the big window at the very end of the train.

Rose went to the window, slightly disappointed to find identical views to the ones seen from her compartment. She'd made this journey more than twelve times in her sixteen years, but it never got any more interesting.

Until now.

Rose felt something small and round hit her quite sharply in the back of the head. "Shit!" Lifting her hand, she winced in pain and embarrassment as she spun around. A figure stood, leaning against one of the compartment walls. Light blond hair curled against his forehead, beneath which sat two pale, grey eyes, shining with mischievous delight. His thin, wide lips were twitched up into a smirk before he opened them, raising a hand, to say, "Howdy there, Red." In the hand that lingered by his waist was a packet of **Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.** Rose glanced down at the floor to pinpoint the bean that had assaulted her. It was green.

"I don't like the green ones," Scorpius Malfoy said, as if in explanation.

Rose stared at him in silence for a moment, before cracking a smile. He grinned back, accepting the slap on the arm that he was given once she approached him. "That fucking hurt, Malfoy," she jokingly complained. "Those barf-flavoured beans are lethal."

"I wouldn't know," he replied, chuckling slightly and scratching the back of his head absentmindedly.

"Want me to show you?"

"I'm alright, thanks."

Rose and Scorpius had quite a complicated and difficult relationship. Due to the prejudices of both families, they couldn't be **friends**, per say. Rose had expected to attend Hogwarts and fully despise Scorpius thanks to the stories that she had heard from her grudge-holding father, so the truth about the boy had been quite a shock. Scorpius was in Ravenclaw and, thus, incredibly intelligent. He was relatively quiet and didn't have a lot of friends, but that was to be expected. Everybody who had magical parents – and, generally, even those who didn't – knew the story of the long-time enmity between villain Draco Malfoy and hero Harry Potter. Scorpius was treated warily by all who met him on default and his sarcastic nature and hard-to-impress personality didn't particularly help matters.

Fortunately – or... unfortunately, depending on whose side you lay – Rose herself was quite a difficult person to get along with. She was friendly and good-hearted, sure, but she was a perpetual know-it-all and had quite a spiteful side to her. Her personality and keen thirst for knowledge clashed with Scorpius in the very first class they had together, because he was not so dissimilar. In their younger years they disliked one another, but as Rose grew older she found herself appreciating the challenge. Who would she war against in Potions or verbally spar with in Charms but Scorpius? He understood her sense of humour and she somewhat got his cynical outlook on the world, and they clicked. For all their rivalry, they clicked.

Of course, James despised him. The boys – in different years and houses – had virtually no reason to cross one another's paths except for during Quidditch games. Apparently, that small window of opportunity was all they needed to continuously antagonize one another. James' violent and nasty traits were brought out by Scorpius, who seemed to get a malicious thrill from goading him. Though they had never been in a physical – or magical – fight with each other officially, the classes knew that they were in for some source of gossip whenever fate brought James Potter and Scorpius Malfoy within close proximity of one another.

Apart from Rose and James, the rest of the Potters and Weasleys felt various levels of indifference toward Scorpius. Albus felt wary and a little frightened of him (and hated being around him with James because it almost always led to James in a foul mood), but was otherwise uncaring. Louis knew who he was from Quidditch but mostly ignored him, and Roxanne had too much on her plate to worry about keeping up with the family tradition of hating a Malfoy. Hugo looked to him in mild disdain, but little Lily had actually harboured a crush on Scorpius before her uncle had snappishly let her know who he was. Needless to say, she'd quickly moved on to liking someone in Gryffindor.

Rose's slightly unwilling fondness for Scorpius, however, had lingered on. She didn't really know what to do with it but, against the will of her family and most likely his, the two had formed a shaky almost-friendship. He annoyed her like no one else a lot of the time, but she couldn't think of anyone who made her laugh quite as much as he did. After a couple of months away in a solely Weasley-Potter environment, Rose found herself quite pleased to have someone a bit different around.

"So, I was thinking," Scorpius said, shifting from his casual position against the wall and forcing his slightly lanky frame into a straight standing position, "I spent way too many of the Hogsmeade trips last year alone, in my dorm, reading Quidditch mags and basically dying a slow and very painful death." Rose chuckled, and he went on. "So. Since you clearly have no friends either-"

Rose was halfway through an indignant snort when someone caught her attention behind Scorpius. Roxanne – Rose's cousin and Hogwarts' Head Girl – called her name and waved a hand. "Rosie! I come with news of Noel Hunter!" Noel Hunter was a rather fetchingly handsome wizard that had graduated Hogwarts the year before with fervent promises to return as soon as possible. He was **very** popular with the females of the school. Sidestepping Scorpius with a hand motion meaning 'hang on just a sec', Rose gave her full attention to Roxanne.

"So, apparently," Roxanne said, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. "He wants to be a Muggle Studies professor so he's coming back this year to work as a librarian assistant in the **forbidden section**." She grinned. "I might just find myself becoming a bit of a bookworm this year." Rose laughed, thinking back to Noel. He'd been fantastically intelligent, yet surprisingly easy to talk to; she had been fifteen at the time and him seventeen, but they'd gotten on like a house on fire whenever they'd bumped into one another at the library or in Hogsmeade. Rose had even developed quite a crush on him. Unfortunately for her, he seemed to get along with all the other girls at Hogwarts just as well as he did with her.

Roxanne led Rose back to their compartment, changing the subject to chat animatedly about her Head Girl duties, and it was only when she reached the compartment door that Rose remembered Scorpius. She turned back apologetically, but her efforts were wasted. He was gone.


	2. Wake Me Up When September Ends

2. Wake Me Up When September Ends

_**Author's Note: **_**The title of this story is a song by Kelly Clarkson, this chapter title is a song by Green Day. I don't own these, and I don't own Harry Potter either.**

**These first few chapters were really just introductory- they were just to clue you in on the Potter-Weasley-Longbottom-Malfoy families and how they all react to one another. This chapter is another of those- just to let you see a bit of Scorpius's nasty side and possibly let you in on one of Rose's fears.**

**In fact, you might find this chapter a bit shit and useless, tbh, and I was considering making it an outtake- the next chapter will be really long, though, I feel. So I'll leave this in and treat you to some foul language on Rose's part. xD**

"Why are we even doing this?" Albus Severus grumbled, pulling the red and yellow scarf tighter around his neck. "It's absolutely freezing. I've already bought all of these bloody ingredients anyway..."

"We're doing this because Professor Rowett is a twat," Rose replied coarsely, stopping in the middle of the school grounds and crossing her arms. It was late September and, although Hogwarts were still offered a few mild days of precious, lingering sunlight, it had been raining all that week and the grass squelched underfoot with bubbling mud. Rose's Potions Professor had, however, decided that it was the perfect day for ingredient discovery. He'd sent all of his students out for an hour with a sheet of mushroom illustrations and a map while he sat inside with a glass of fire whiskey and a packet of biscuits. It was unjust- it was seriously unjust.

"Where shall we look, then?" Albus asked, stopping beside his cousin and rubbing his robe-clad arms with his gloved hands.

"I suppose we could try along the Forbidden Forest hem, and definitely near the greenhouses. I bet loads of stuff grows there." In truth, she didn't have a clue and, let's face it, didn't give a shit. It was chilly and her hair was a mess and she was hungry. It was last lesson of the day, too, so she just wanted to head inside and go to sleep. Instead she was being made to crawl around outside in the dirt to look for mushrooms. With a sigh, she led Albus over to the Forbidden Forest and bent over to glance among the blades of grass. There seemed to be just endless planes of green, no mushrooms in sight. Rose wondered if Professor Rowett had just given them this task to get them out of the way.

"You won't find any there!" an amused voice called out. Rose turned to find Scorpius, grinning at her from beneath a floppy grey hat. It would have looked ridiculous on anyone else. "You've got to go in deep to find the good stuff, Red." To her dismay she noticed, as he came closer, that he already had a few big specimens of ingredient in his plastic box.

"If I wanted your advice, I would have asked for it, Malfoy," she snapped, turning her nose up slightly.

"No you wouldn't," Scorpius laughed, barely phased by her apparent annoyance towards him. "I know you wouldn't. That's why I have to volunteer my expertise without asking." He shook the box in his hand. "I'm serious, though. I went in just a few paces and found all these. There's nothing out here for us to find, it's all in the forest."

"It's forbidden for a reason, Scorpius," Rose told him, crossing her arms. "They wouldn't give us a task that requires us to break the rules in order to complete it."

"They would if they were a bunch of lazy bastards who just wanted to sit in their office, watching us search desperately in vain while they gorged on biscuits," he shot back, shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, a little rule-breaking's good for the soul." He nodded towards the forest and his smile widened. "Want to break the rules with me, Rosie?"

Rose bit her lip. On one hand, now that she'd seen someone collecting mushrooms, the challenge had been set. If no one was doing any work, it was easy to fall behind and blend in with them. But if she ran the risk of letting Scorpius Malfoy get in an easy academic victory... well, that was a whole other story. Besides, the wizarding war was over; what was there possibly to fear in the Forbidden Forest these days?

"You're sure we can find some in there?"

Scorpius smiled charmingly, and rattled his box again. The dull, wet thuds of the mushrooms inside taunted her. "The proof's in the pudding."

Rose looked at Albus, biting her lip. "Shall we?"

Albus backed away immediately. "I... uh... I don't think so," he said, shaking his head surely. "Those mushrooms don't mean that much to me. Have fun, and try not to get eaten by anything in there, will you?" With a wave and a look of incredulity towards his cousin's competitiveness, he jogged back to the group of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws that had congregated in the middle of the field to chat.

Rose glanced back to Scorpius. "I know we're rivals," the blond boy said. "But there's no rule against us working together for once. You never know- I might just surprise you. C'mon, Rosie- I dare you."

And that was all it took. With a smirk and narrowed eyes, Rose nodded and jogged into the dark shade of the wood. Scorpius caught with her and, as he took over and prepared to lead, she grabbed his wrist. "Oh, yeah... Scorpius? Call me Rosie again and I'll stick my wand somewhere extremely unpleasant."

Scorpius chuckled. "I look forward to it, Rosie."

"Shut up."

They found several more specimens of mushroom gathered around the foot of a large tree, but their collection soon become extremely repetitive. They ventured into the forest further- a move that Rose feared was less sensible than she had at first thought when the eerie silence set in. She thought back to all the nightmare-inducing stories that her father and uncle had told her about their adventures in the Forbidden Forest, and bit her lip with nervousness. _They were stupid stories, and they weren't true,_she told herself. _Or, at least, they aren't true anymore..._

She felt a gentle tap on her left shoulder, and turned her head. There was nothing there save for endless trees. Scorpius giggled on her other side at the success of his prank. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, because that was mature, Malfoy, really."

He sniggered, but all he said back once he was composed was, "Why do you call me by my last name so much?"

Sneaking a sideward glance at him, Rose replied, "Because your first name is so idiotic."

"I'll have you know that my f-"

_Grunt_.

"What the hell?" Rose asked, glancing at her Ravenclaw classmate.

Scorpius stared back blankly at her. "What? That wasn't me."

"Oh, yeah, sure it wasn't," Rose replied, rolling her eyes and bending down again to examine the mushrooms clustered around a rock. After forty minutes of looking at fungi, it all seemed to start looking the same.

_Grunt_.

She stood, ignoring the sound to presume that Scorpius was still busy being an idiot, and pried the lid of the plastic box open in order to deposit one of her ingredient choices inside. Then she looked up at her classmate again, annoyed at what an obvious attempt he made to freak her out, only to find herself alone. Sighing heavily and rolling her eyes yet again, she fixed the lid back on the box and looked around. It was surprisingly dark under the cover of the trees and, since they'd gone in deeper, she found it difficult to tell which the way back to school was.

"Scorpius," she called, words distorted with another sigh. "You are aware that this is even less funny than the stupid shoulder tap thing, right?" As she expected, he didn't emerge, so she began to walk in the direction that seemed most well-lit. "Seriously, stop being an idiot." Against her will, she felt unpleasant chills and tingles shoot up her spine, and felt her temperature drop almost immediately. The irrational – she assumed – fear crept in slowly like black smoke, curling around her and holding her quite gently in its cold embrace. "Scorpius, you twat..." she murmured, her voice slightly weaker now as she quickened her pace through the damp mud and tree roots.

Before long, Rose stopped and turned around. "Scorpius!" she called, a little louder this time. She focused on keeping her voice strong and a little annoyed- Malfoy could be as much of a prankster as her cousin James when he wanted to be, so she knew that hearing her fear would just edge him on. "Get your ass here right now or-"

With a roar – one tinged with hysterical boyish laughter – something collided with her back, knocking her forwards hard enough to make her shriek with alarm. A firm arm around her waist prevented her from collapsing into the dirt beneath her attacker. She squirmed against the hold he had on her and broke free, turning to face a Ravenclaw boy who was verging on being paralytic with laughter. Breathing heavily with lingering fear, relief and adrenalin, she shoved Scorpius as hard as she could away from her. "You're a fucking nutcase," she told him, rapidly blinking away moisture from her eyes. "How could you even do that to me? Fuck you, Malfoy. It wasn't even funny." She spun and walked away from him, the tree line fortunately in her view.

"It was, Rose," Scorpius said, retrieving the box of mushrooms that Rose had dropped onto the floor and falling into step beside her. He put his free hand on her arm.

"Get lost," she snapped, her voice hoarse and more vulnerable than he'd heard her sound in a while.

"Don't," he said, tightening his grip to try and slow her down while she attempted to shake him off.

"Get fucking lost," she said a little louder, yanking her arm out of his grip and taking off at a jog.

Scorpius, a Chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team who did laps of the pitch almost every morning, caught up with her easily and stepped around in front of her. "Hey, hey, Rosie," he said, noticing the genuine annoyance and embarrassment on her face. "It was just a joke. I didn't mean to freak you out, I'm sorry."

She pushed him away again sharply. "Don't even bother, Malfoy. You're just like James, and Merlin knows I had to put up with enough of him in my summer holidays. Come make it up to me once you've grown up a little."

Rose made her way back to the Potions room in silence, and Scorpius followed quietly behind.


	3. Through the Dark

3. Through the Dark

_**Author's Note: **_**The title of this story is a song by Kelly Clarkson, this chapter title is a song by KT Tunstall. I don't own these, and I don't own Harry Potter either.**

**This chapter is a lot longer – about twice as long – as the last two, but it has some definite relevance to the plot and it was really fun to write. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you tell me so. ;D**

A week or so passed wherein Rose and Scorpius barely spoke. It wasn't so much that Rose was still angry with him over his joke at her expense in the forest; they'd just slipped into the habit of ignoring one another, and didn't have many lessons together those few days anyway. She spent her time with Albus when possible during lessons, and sat under the shelter of the courtyard with the rest of her family during rainy October lunchtimes. They were somewhat monotonous, her first few days in October, but not unpleasant.

Fate brought Rose and Scorpius together again in one of the strangest places they'd ever spoken; in a broom cupboard on October the fourth at midnight while a storm battered the castle outside and Filch prowled the dungeon corridors.

---

Rose was hungry.

While the thunder and lightning battered the stone walls of Hogwarts, the majority of its students sat up in their dormitories and common rooms playing cards and sharing midnight feasts. It would have been the same for Gryffindor but for the fact that nobody had any snacks. Students of all ages were crammed along the big red sofas in the common room, complaining about their hunger pains and their Chocolate Frog cravings.

Rose was no exception, and she sat on the rug in front of the roaring fire, rubbing her stomach and grumbling to Albus and James. Roxanne had descended from the seventh year girls dorms an hour or so before to attempt her Head Girl duties and send them back to bed, but within ten minutes she had joined in with the hunger complaints and set up a game that involved transfiguring ordinary common room objects so that they had legs and then making them race. She sat cross-legged on an armchair in her owl-printed shorts-and-vest pyjama set, long blonde hair gathered all around her as she oversaw the proceedings of her game and handled all the sickle-and-knut-based bets on the races.

Quidditch Captain Louis was in the corner with a few girls, bragging about his adventures on a broomstick and correcting them on the pronunciation of his name whenever possible. "It's Loo-ey, sweetheart," Rose had heard him tell them over five times now. "Not Lew-is. French name, you see."

It only took Rose's loudest stomach growl yet to force her into a standing position. "I'm sick of this," she told the general vicinity of people. "I'm starving here. Food is on the way." With a determined look in her blue eyes, she marched to the portrait hole. In all honesty, she looked a little ridiculous. She wore a pair of James' old pyjama bottoms, printed with Bludgers – the Potters and the Weasleys don't like to waste stuff – paired with a too-small black Fall Out Wizard concert t-shirt. On her feet were rather fetching slippers, the front of which had cat faces. The enchanted cat eyes in the slippers changed colour depending on the mood of the wearer. Right now they were red.

"Where are you going?" Rebecca Longbottom asked, peering out of big eyes behind her curtains of dark hair.

"A magician can never reveal her secrets," Rose replied cryptically, before winking at James. He knew where she was headed, and she watched him head up to the dormitory. She knew he was going to get the Marauder's Map so that he could watch where she went. James was a pain in the arse a lot of the time, but he did care about his family.

Taking her wand from its place (it had been tucked into the stretchy waistband of her pyjama bottoms), Rose slipped awkwardly out of the portrait hole, ignoring the questions she got from the drowsy, exhausted Fat Lady. She made her way cautiously to the entrance hall, tiptoeing down stairs and starting violently whenever she thought she heard the noise of an approaching person. She kept her wand light extremely dim. Once she got to the bottom of the Grand Staircase, she took a right and went through the door nearby. It was the route to the kitchens and, she knew, the Hufflepuff common room. She also supposed that these basement passages connected to the dungeon corridors as well.

Rose extinguished her wand, the path ahead lit by dull magical lamps. Unlike the lifelike paintings of famous wizards that littered the walls of the other areas of the castle, images of fruit and vegetables adorned the walls surrounding her now. She observed them as she walked, her feet taking her to her destination without her even needing to think about it. Rose supposed she was halfway to the kitchens when she heard a door slam somewhere behind her. She froze automatically, panic clawing at her throat when she heard footsteps coming the way that she had. A hummed tune also floated into her ears. "Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggywarty Hogwarts! Teach us something new..." Coughs and wheezes broke the song apart in places.

Filch!

The sheer thought of the man made Rose shiver and she immediately started walking as quickly as she dared. Her slippers muffled the worst of the noise. Hogwarts' nasty caretaker hadn't changed a bit since her father was here, according to the stories she had been told, so she knew that she certainly didn't want to be caught wandering the castle at night on his watch.

Rose stumbled, bumping into the wall and causing a noise. To her horror, Filch's singing stopped, and he called out, "Who's there?" His voice was quiet, so she assumed that he was still a couple of corridors away... but he was close enough to hear her lose her step. She hoped that his cat wasn't anywhere nearby.

Breaking into a reckless run, Rose risked making more noise as she sprinted around the corner. The painting of the pear was illuminated in dim light but the rest of the corridor was enveloped in darkness- which is why she didn't see Scorpius Malfoy until she crashed straight into him. She had no idea which angle she'd hit him at; only that she'd seen his bright blond hair just a second too late. The pair swore, Rose in pain and Scorpius in shock, but fortunately neither fell down. Snatching his arm, Rose dragged her bewildered Ravenclaw almost-friend to the single door in the hallway – which happened to be a broom cupboard, she knew from past experiences – and shoved him inside. Closing the door behind her, she flicked her wand and placed a temporary lock on it, hoping that she'd managed to get inside before being seen.

Filch was nearby. His footsteps were loud and so was his voice as he snappishly asked whoever was there to reveal themselves. Rose's wand was lit dully, washing hers and Scorpius' faces in light. She watched Scorpius closely, her huge blue eyes widened in panic as she mentally begged him to understand and stay quiet. Luckily, Scorpius was intelligent. He knew enough about Filch to know not to draw attention to their hiding place.

Eventually, after two minutes that felt stretched to two hours, Filch seemed to put down this midnight disturbance as one of the ghosts, or Peeves. He ambled off, starting to hum his Hogwarts school tune beneath his breath again. Only when his footsteps and his voice had faded into silence did Rose find her voice. She pushed away a bucket that her legs had been awkwardly wrapped around, and said hoarsely, "What are you doing here?"

Scorpius lit up his own wand, the light that he created shining several times brighter than Rose's pathetic glow. Then he countered her question with one of his own. "Oh, so you're talking to me now?"

Rose stared at him fiercely for a moment, before replying, "Yes. If you're lucky, maybe I still will be tomorrow." Not one to ever be outdone, she murmured a spell beneath her breath and flicked her wand so that it too shone vividly. She put hers down on a bucket. "So what are you here for, then?"

"Kitchen," Scorpius said. "Everyone's up in the common room because of the thunder, like last year. Remember last year?"

Rose grinned. The year before, pretty much every being – human and otherwise – in Hogwarts had been kept awake by the loudest and most frightening thunderstorm they had ever been forced to sit through. It had gotten so bad that it had reduced some of the first and second years to hysteria, so the school staff had summoned everybody down to the Great Hall in their pyjamas. At a moment's notice, the house elves had put together a massive feast of every dinner plate leftover from tea, every dessert and every piece of snack and confectionary that they could find. The school's aged Headmistress, McGonagall, had placed a Wizard's Wireless on the high table and turned the volume up. Together, the students and staff had waited the storm out. Lessons had been discarded the next day in favour of catching up on sleep.

"Yeah, that's what I'm here for, too. Nobody's got any snacks or anything in their trunks. Or, if they have, they're not willing to share," Rose said, wrinkling her nose. "I wish they'd bring us down to the Great Hall again, but it's not as bad this year, is it?" Her stomach rumbled suddenly, and she blushed in the darkness.

Scorpius laughed. "What are we waiting for? Filchie's gone, let's get us some grub."

The pair stumbled uncomfortably out of the tight broom cupboard, retrieving their wands and heading over to the huge painting of fruit. Rose tickled the pear gently – which giggled in response – and the door opened. Within seconds of stepping over the painting Rose was dragged inside by an army of house elves, each fussing over her and enquiring in their squeaky voices as to what she needed and how her parents were. Scorpius was left, untouched, by the painting door. Rose managed to ask for a basket of sweets and chocolate eventually, but also ended up informing the elves that yes, her uncle was doing extremely well; no, his scar hadn't hurt him since he was at Hogwarts; yes, Louis was still Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team; and no, he was unlikely to be kicked off so that James could take his place.

Motioning for Scorpius to come forward, Rose took a seat on one of the comfortable booths in the kitchen. "What are you, shy?" she asked, chuckling, surprised by his suddenly subdued nature.

"No," he scoffed, sitting down beside her. "But it's hard to be in a room with over a hundred creatures that, small as they are, absolutely hate your guts."

Rose frowned. "Why would they hate your guts?"

"Um, let's see... maybe because I'm the son of the guy who made your uncle – and their hero –'s life a living fucking misery since he was in first year?" Scorpius said, sarcastically 'hazarding a guess'.

For once, Rose didn't rise to Scorpius's obvious annoyance. "Right..."

The house elves interrupted, pushing a huge basket of treats onto Rose's side of the booth. They made sure to keep it out of Scorpius's grabbing distance and, when they backed off into another corner of the kitchen, Rose heard 'Malfoy' repeated over and over like the angry buzzing of bees.

"Scorpius would like something to take back to his house members, please," Rose called out to Scorpius' surprise, standing up. One house elf scurried back to stand before her, and said quite proudly, "We do not like to serve the Malfoy spawn, Miss Weasley."

Rose gawped down at him, before becoming quite indignant. "Well, why not? Scorpius is no different to me. If you refuse to serve him you are refusing to serve the Ravenclaw house in its entirety. I refuse to let my friend's reputation become so carelessly tarnished simply because of the name he inherited from his father. What do you want, Scorpius?"

It was Scorpius' turn to gawp. His mouth opened and closed in an 'o' of surprise, before he waved a hand. "Y'know what, Rose, it doesn't matter."

"No, it does. We'll have another of those baskets!" she said, barely remembering – for the first time in her life – to mutter the added on, "_Please_."

With a huff, she turned and sat back down in her booth, a hand on the wicker of her snack basket. Scorpius stared at her, before a smirk grew on his face and he asked, "So, let me get this straight, Red: we're friends now?"

Rose glanced at him, considering his face before replying shortly, "Yes. I suppose we are."

"Okay," Scorpius replied, grinning and raising his hands defensively. "Just had to get that cleared up with you. You really are difficult sometimes, Rosie."

"So are you."

"I know. That's why we get along."

Rose glanced at her basket of food and bit her lip. She seemed to be silently debating something in her head, but an abrupt rumble of her stomach appeared to give her cause to make a decision. She slid the basket onto the floor and took off the red gingham cover across the top of the packets below, spreading it onto the table in front of the booth like a table cloth. Her mouth watered at the sight of the food below; pasties and éclairs and cakes sat above a sea of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans, Chocolate Frogs and Sugar Quills. And those were just the delicacies that she could see. "Screw it, I'm tucking in," she said, snatching a few things out of the basket and putting them onto the table. "Help yourself. We can take the rest up once we've had our pick."

And, with that, she sank her white teeth into the chocolate, pastry and cream of a delicious éclair. Rose couldn't help the moan of pleasure that she got from the dessert. It was as if she hadn't eaten in months. She was unaware of Scorpius' eyes on her as she ate, but even if she had have seen him she wouldn't have cared. He leaned over her to pick out a handful of little cupcakes decorated in varieties of baby-coloured icing and stuck into those. For a couple of minutes they scoffed in silence, but Rose eventually spoke up.

"It was my birthday yesterday," she informed Scorpius, starting on another éclair.

"You have cream on your nose," Scorpius responded. "And, was it? Happy belated birthday. Sorry I missed it."

Rose self-consciously rubbed at her nose. "You aren't," she argued, shaking her head. "It was shit. I just got to hang out with my cousins and my brother again in the common room, eating homemade cake from grandma and groaning as I find out that I've got socks from James _again_."

Scorpius winced. "Urgh, socks are a shit present."

"They're okay until you've received them eight times."

"No," Scorpius insisted, shaking his head. "Socks are just a shit present in general."

"Alright then, Mr Genius Buyer. What would you buy?" Rose challenged.

"What, for you?"

"For anybody."

"Um... what? I dunno, give me specifics. This game doesn't work unless you give me someone specific."

"Fine then, me. What would you buy me instead of socks?"

Scorpius paused to think and take a bite of his cupcake. "I'd buy you a book," he told her. "First of all. A book on something you're really crap at, like... History of Magic."

"I'm not crap at History of Magic!"

"You are," Scorpius laughed. "You're horrendously bad at it. I think you're forgetting that oral essay we had to do about the dates of wizard death penalties?" Rose cringed, and Scorpius went on. "Yeah, before you ask, it really _was_ that terrible. Besides, I've seen you asleep in that lesson more times than I've seen you awake in it, so I'd buy you a book to help you. Of course, since the subject bores the pants off you, I'd make little notes and stuff in the margins before I gave it to you. Just jokes and things to keep you awake while you read. Fun facts, and that. I'd buy you some chocolates from Honeyduke's, too, because you can't buy someone a book about a subject they hate without balancing it out with something they love."

"Wow," Rose said, biting her lip through her smile. "I didn't see that coming when I asked you."

"My turn," Scorpius said, shifting the focus from him as quickly as it had arrived. "What would _you_ buy _me_?"

Rose giggled slightly nervously. "Agh, give me a minute." Like he had, she ate a couple more bites of éclair while she thought about it. "Okay, I'd buy you a lifetime supply of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, because I know you like those, but I'd pick out all the green ones. That way there's less to throw at me." Scorpius burst into laughter. "I'd also get you really expensive tickets to your favourite Quidditch team's games, that's for sure. I know you'd like that." She tilted her head to think again, and then looked down when she said the next gift. "And I'd find a way to make it so that everyone stopped hating you for mistakes that your father made."

Scorpius' smile slid off his face and he was so silent and intense that, for a moment, Rose thought she had offended him in some way. Then his thin lips curved upwards into one of the most genuine smiles she thought she'd ever seen on him. "Thanks," he told her. "Those would be the best gifts I'd ever received." They fell into an oddly uncomfortable silence until Rose cheerily broke it.

"So, talking of presents, what are you doing for Christmas this year, anyway?"

---

The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms never got to see their sugary treats that night. Scorpius and Rose stayed talking in the kitchens until the very early hours, until a house elf had helpfully – though somewhat timidly – approached them to inform them that it was past four o'clock in the morning and that the storm had stopped over two hours ago. Lost in conversation, neither sixth year had even noticed when the thunder had ceased rolling. Rose had shrieked in panic and disbelief, grabbing her basket and disappearing at a run back to the Gryffindor common room without a single glance behind her.

The time had just flown, though. It had been so long since Rose had had a conversation with somebody that wasn't either related to her by blood, or related to her through marriage. The feeling of sharing such different pasts and ways of life with someone else gave her a slightly alarming thrill, and she found herself looking forward to her next lesson with Scorpius Malfoy. She vowed that, next time she sat beside him in Potions, she'd try to find out some real information about him instead of ceaselessly bickering about insignificant ingredients. Her grudge towards him about the pranks in the forest had been completely forgotten.

When she'd got back into the common room, she found it completely deserted. It looked like someone had hosted a wild, drunken party in there, however; wrappers from the few pieces of food people did have were littered across the floor, along with playing cards, chess pieces and owl biscuits. Rose sincerely hoped that nobody had been pushed far enough to try and eat the latter. Placing the basket quietly on an end table, Rose had scrawled a quick 'sorry guys!' across a battered sheet of parchment and stuck it on the top before sneaking upstairs and collapsing into bed. She slept like a log until eight o'clock in the morning and got three and a half hours sleep. Needless to say, she missed breakfast the next morning.

_But_, a tiny and proud part of her insisted, _it was worth it_.


	4. Sanctuary

4. Sanctuary

_**Author's Note: **_**The title of this story is a song by Kelly Clarkson, this chapter title is a song by Delta Goodrem. I don't own these, and I don't own Harry Potter either.**

**Enter another of my OCs: Noel Hunter! As much as I despise adding totally new characters in, he's pretty important.**

**This chapter totally reminds me of the Girl's Aloud version of 'Teenage Dirtbag', so go listen. xD You'll know exactly what I mean.**

Over the next couple of weeks, Rose found out some useless but nevertheless interesting facts about Scorpius Malfoy. Apparently, he had been born with really odd auburn-brown hair, which had all fallen out before the age of one and left him bald as an egg until the white-blond sprouted through. His father, Draco – a subject which had been most carefully breached considering the history between the Weasleys and the Malfoys – owned a company that made magic-powered devices, including Wizard's Wireless radios and was hardly ever at home. His mother, Astoria, was a 'vain and hard-faced bitch' – a quote from Scorpius himself – who didn't work and spent all her time going out with fancy ex-Death-Eater wives for brunch. Scorpius didn't go home during any of the school holidays because, frankly, he was happier at school.

In turn, Scorpius had found out that Rose had a fear of spiders that she'd inherited from her father and that when she was five she had broken her cousin James' finger when he wouldn't stop prodding her. Scorpius had found that fact particularly hilarious. He had discovered that her father, Ronald, (another subject that they had found uncomfortable to talk about) was a terrible driver who only passed his test because he Confunded the examiner. Her mother, Hermione, worked for the ministry and handled her charity for house elves (S.P.E.W.) in her spare time.

They swapped trivia about one another as often as they could- in lessons, at break times, whenever they casually bumped into one another in the corridor. What they hadn't done, however, was come public about their friendship. Scorpius had no problems with letting people know that he and Rose Weasley actually got on, but Rose was worried about James. Why risk ruining a good thing by getting James involved? She also worried about her Gryffindor friends. Whereas Scorpius had no friends to lose over their situation, Rose did. Plenty of the people she hung around with were wary and distrusting of the Ravenclaw. They could very well ditch her if they found out she was good friends with him. It was a selfish thing to feel, she knew, but she couldn't help it.

Rose was thinking about the things she had learned as she walked to the library – her safe haven – on a chilly, late-October Sunday morning. Since it was the weekend, she had dressed casually in jeans, a printed tee and a long cardigan. The stone corridors of Hogwarts were cold and difficult to brave, but Rose needed something new to read. There hadn't been a Hogsmeade trip so far – it was too early in the year – and she hadn't been able to acquire any new material. Her dorm-mates' steamy witch romances got boring after she'd read the same story by different authors over and over and over again. She needed something challenging and interesting to pore over.

So, off to the library she went.

She was immensely shocked to find the crowd of people gathered around the library and inside it, but slightly relieved as the temperature had gone up. It was a Sunday, though- these people were usually in bed. What were they doing all over her sanctuary, along with unsightly orange fliers? She received an answer to the former the second she walked through the doors and saw the blinding white smile behind the librarian's desk. Letting her suddenly dazed eyes crawl upwards, she took in the wide tanned face with the strong jaw line; the round pink lips; the dark, dark brown eyes; the wonderfully wavy, shining mahogany hair and the heartbreaking smile that was aimed straight at her.

"Rosie!" Noel Hunter called out, bounding from behind the counter and rushing up to her. He pulled her into a hug so hard it made her blush, and affectionately ruffled her loose red locks. "Oh, my Rosie. Isn't she pretty?" he asked nobody in particular. Nobody replied. "You've grown up so much since last year, babe. How are you?"

"Um, great," Rose replied, attempting to subtly straighten her mussed hair. "How're you?"

"I've never been better, sweetheart. It's been so weird to come back here, though, not even a year after I left, and start getting treated as staff. I get to actually prowl the forbidden section of the library without getting a pass from anyone, and I'm telling you: that has been awesome."

"So, what are you doing here then? Roxanne said something about you wanting to be a teacher," Rose said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. It was becoming increasingly clear that she fidgeted when she was nervous.

Noel flashed his brilliant smile again, glancing over to the librarian's desk where Roxanne herself stood. "Ah, Roxie- she's been an absolute babe to me since I've come back."

_I bet she has_, Rose couldn't help but think venomously.

"But yeah," Noel went on. "I'm sticking around as library assistant for a couple of years while I get my shit together and then I'm getting proper teacher training at the Ministry of Magic."

"That sounds really cool," Rose admitted. Teaching had been one of the things that she had considered as a career after school, as well. She hoped that Noel would return to Hogwarts after his training so that she could grill him on what it was like- among things.

"So anyway," Noel said, changing the subject so quickly that it almost made Rose's head spin. "You got yourself a boyfriend yet?"

Rose blushed again, and waved a hand. "No."

"No?!" Noel repeated disbelievingly. "You're kidding! I'd have thought you'd be stringing hundreds of boys along by the time I got back, Rosie. You're so pretty." Another blush.

"Noel!" Roxanne called from the front desk, leaning over it to gesture at him. "C'mere a sec! I want to introduce you to Callie- she's a complete star."

And then, disappearing almost as quickly as he had appeared, Noel Hunter was gone. Rose sighed, turning and heading for the bookshelves. She browsed, picking up a book now and again to skim through its pages. When she opened _Potions for Pilferers_, a neon orange piece of paper fluttered out. When it hit the polished wooden floor, it stood out brightly, positively screaming 'read me' at her. She retrieved it, and glanced over the message.

**WICKED WITCHE'S HALLOWEEN PARTY:**

**Come in fancy dress if you dare!**

**31 October!**

That explained the sheer amount of fliers littered about. The Wicked Witches were a group of seventh year girls who were in charge of organising all of Hogwarts' balls and celebrations. They were putting on some sort of disco to celebrate Halloween, by the looks of it- the witch or wizard in the best costume received a prize. Rose looked up and glanced around. Almost half of the people in the library were reading the fliers. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed when she came in. From the other side of the room, Noel laughed loudly. Rose remembered why she hadn't noticed the posters.

Glancing back down, she considered – for a brief moment – attending the party. Dancing, free food and drink, a chance to dress up and have fun... it could be alright. Then she reconsidered. It was the end of October – less than a week away – and she wouldn't have time to make a costume. Not only that, but she already had a ton of homework to complete by September. She didn't have time to party. Running her fingers over the thick, bold black lettering, Rose sighed.

"You going?" somebody suddenly asked over her shoulder, making her jump. She spun into the chest of Scorpius Malfoy, who caught her by the arms to steady her, chuckling.

"Are you stalking me, Malfoy?" she asked with a grin. "That or you've got a time-turner. You're everywhere at once."

Scorpius' grey eyes shot from side to side, as he said jokingly, "Damn, I think she's onto us!" He laughed, dropping the act, and switched back to his original question. "Are you going to the Halloween ball, then, or what?"

"Well-," Rose began negatively, shaking her head and shrugging at the same time.

"Oh," Scorpius said knowingly, interrupting her before she'd even really began her denial. "It figures." He turned to leave the aisle.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Rose asked, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

Scorpius shrugged easily out of her grasp, and answered, "Nothing. I just guessed you wouldn't be going."

"Why?" Rose demanded, shoving the book she had retrieved the flier out of back onto its shelf.

"You've probably got an essay on the qualities of frog eyes to do, or something. And there's no way you'd have a costume worth wearing."

Though his points were valid and extremely true, Rose felt immediately offended. How dare he assume things like that about her? She scowled, and felt an immediate longing for the party. If she did go – putting her essay and priorities aside for one night – she'd be able to prove him wrong, right? And a chance to prove Scorpius Malfoy wrong was worth a possible detention for unfinished homework.

"As a matter of fact, Scorpius Malfoy, I _will_ be going to the party- and I _will_ have one of the best costumes there." And with that, Rose spun on her heel and left the library, forgetting all about her book. Her mind was firmly focused elsewhere.

She left so quickly that she didn't see Scorpius' triumphant smile. _Mission accomplished_.


	5. Catastrophe

5. Catastrophe

_**Author's Note: **_**The title of this story is a song by Kelly Clarkson. I don't own it, and I don't own Harry Potter either.**

**Aha, I totally didn't plan this chapter; this was meant to include a short couple of paragraphs describing Rose's outfit followed by the Halloween party itself. I started writing, however, and didn't stop. So sorry, guys! The Halloween party is coming up next chapter, which should be posted on Wednesday. I'm going to university today so that's when I'll be back.**

**I love you guys and I'm so grateful for the reviews I've received so far, so keep 'em comin'! ;D**

Over the next few days, Rose realized just how idiotic she had been. Why did she have to brag about having the best costume? As it were, she'd be lucky to get one at all. She was empty of inspiration and couldn't think of anything to go as; jealousy filled her when she heard her cousin Roxanne speaking about her own outfit. Roxanne was going as a Veela. Rose wondered what she could possibly wear that would make her look more gorgeous- she could already pass easily as at least a half-Veela. Fleetingly, Rose considered dressing as the Muggles' impression of witch. Then she immediately dismissed that idea and went back to the drawing board.

James suggested she go as a wizard. There were some great fake beards at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, he told her; and Uncle George might give her one for free if she asked nicely. Albus gave her the idea of going as a Blast-Ends Skrewt. Rose told him where he could stick that idea. Louis suggested she wear her Quidditch robes and be done with it, but she couldn't win a prize if she went dressed like that. In the end, it was Roxanne who helped her out. Apparently, she said, she'd been torn between going as a Veela or a fairy. She'd whipped up a pair of pale blue fairy wings in her preparation before she changed her mind, which she pushed into Rose's hands the night before the Halloween ball. "Just pair anything with them" she'd snapped.

That was how, at nine o'clock the next morning, Rose ended up skipping her first lesson and sneaking out of the castle. She went to the costume shop at the furthest end of Hogsmeade, lying to the owner – who recognized her immediately – by saying that she was on a trip. The only things she could find that would match the wings at all were a white corset with light blue, see-through netting sleeves that hung loose and long, and a pair of brown gladiator-style sandals with straps that wound up her calves. She bought them – which cost two Galleons; two _Galleons_! – and slipped back to her dormitory, where she spent the next three hours trying to find something to wear on her bottom half that would match.

While she searched, she read up on a spell that she could use in order to attach the wings to the corset temporarily. The clothing itself was nice and, since it had cost a bomb, she fully expected to wear it again in the future. Besides, the sleeves were blue- they matched her eyes.

Once the spell had been performed, she'd managed to narrow her clothing choices down. She had a pair of white leggings and a long, blue sarong-scarf thing. If she could fashion the flimsy sarong into a skirt, it would be perfect. The leggings would do as a second choice, though. Even if they did make her bum look fat.

Rose was only interrupted once, by one of her classmates. The girl had looked at her and raised an eyebrow. It was clear what Rose was doing: skipping the lessons of the day to fix last minute details on her costume. There was no denying it. Luckily, the girl just rolled her eyes and retrieved the book that she had come up for, before leaving again. Once she was alone again, Rose checked the clock on the wall. Not only had she missed break, she'd missed lunch and it was already fifteen minutes into dinner. Lessons had ended over an hour ago. A loud rumble of her stomach seemed to emphasize that fact, but she couldn't leave until she'd sorted out her outfit. The party started at eight, and it was around five o'clock already.

So she stayed, transfiguring the sarong-scarf piece of clothing until she had something that wrapped around her hips and actually stayed up. Once she'd got the top with the wings on and the sandals, she actually found that she looked quite nice. As she stood in the mirror, observing her flushed cheeks and her messy red strands of hair tucked behind her ears, she felt quite proud of herself. She'd managed to pull this outfit out of her ass in less than two days, and felt incredibly fulfilled. One hand wandered up to twirl in her hair, and she pulled on the brightly-coloured strands as her eyes narrowed. Something had to be done about her hair.

That's how she ended up in the Prefect's bathroom – password courtesy of Albus, of course – with the door locked, her wand at the ready and a book of beauty spell remedies propped open on the sink. Fairies didn't have ugly red hair, she told herself. That was going to have to change. The incantation that was supposed to change orange to blonde was complicated, though, and Rose had to repeat it to herself several times before she felt she had it right. _Chiaro Inficio_. She practiced the wand movement – that was shown in a practical diagram in the book – as she stared fiercely into the mirror. Finally, she took a deep breath.

"Chiaro Inficio!" she called, flicking her wand and stuttering slightly despite herself.

The area around her head exploded into a fog of grey smoke, stinging Rose's eyes and making her hack and cough as she attempted to get it out of her lungs. She dropped her wand to the floor and knocked the beauty spell book off the sink as she flailed around, trying to rid the air of the putrid smoke. Eventually, it cleared, but when she looked into the mirror, she almost wished that it hadn't. Her hair was such a light shade of blonde that it was almost white- except for the tips, which had been burnt black by the strength of the spell and the heat from her wand. The locks, which had once been shiny and clean, were rendered lank and greasy by the enchantment, and they clung to her face unpleasantly.

There was a moment of silence as Rose looked at herself, but that was soon broken as she screeched in dismay, grabbing her hair and falling to her knees on the tiles. She scrabbled about desperately for the book, which she pulled to her and flicked through the pages so fast that they almost ripped under the pressure. There seemed to be no instructions in the book for what happened when the incantations went wrong, but Rose continued to search ceaselessly. Tears dripped down her flushed, freckle-spattered cheeks before she even knew what was happening.

But it got worse.

The entrance to the bathroom rattled as someone in the hallway outside attempted to get in. Rose whimpered in fear and humiliation- she feared she'd die if someone came in and caught her in such a state. "What the hell?" someone asked outside, trying again and making the entrance rattled harder. Rose froze, before cringing and letting out a dismayed sob when she heard a voice accompany the second. There was some incoherent chatter, before a voice with much more authority called out. "Is there someone in there? By order of the Headmistress, students aren't allowed to lock themselves in the Prefects bathroom."

Rose recognized that haughty voice, and didn't know whether to cringe or laugh in relief. It was Roxanne. With a sniff, Rose realized that she had to face the music, and struggled to her feet. She moved to the entrance of the bathroom and murmured, "Roxanne, it's Rose. I'm in here. I've had... a bit of a problem."

"What kind of a problem?"

"Have you got anyone with you?"

"Yeah- Callie. What's the matter, Rose?"

Rose paused. She didn't like the idea of someone who wasn't family seeing her when she was such an absolute mess. Still, if anyone was going to fix her hair it was going to be Roxanne. She turned and rushed back to the sink on shaky legs, retrieving her wand from the floor and releasing the lock on the bathroom. Roxanne and her tall, brown-haired best friend Callie burst in almost comically, freezing dead when they saw Rose's hair. Roxanne's mouth fell open and Callie stifled hysterical giggles behind her hand until Roxanne punched her sharply on the arm. She approached Rose slightly cautiously, touching her face gently to turn it from side to side, revealing more of her horrific hair.

"I don't think I pronounced the incantation right," Rose informed her sadly, quite a master of pointing out the obvious.

Roxanne stared at her for a moment, before snapping into action. "Right: Callie, I have a selection of dye in my school trunk upstairs. Go and get the red o-"

"I'm not going back to my natural colour- get the blonde one," Rose interrupted, leading Roxanne over to the sink and the mirror. She plucked at her hair as she spoke, rubbing off the burnt edges as best she could. Her cousin stared at her for a moment, before confirming the hair colour and telling Rose to try and wash off the worst of the soot. Callie came jogging back a few minutes later, sealing the entrance to the bathroom once more for privacy.

"Sit here," Roxanne ordered, bringing a wicker chair from beside the entrance and placing it in front of the sink, "and don't try and interfere. I'll fix your hair, I promise- so long as you don't stick your oar in." The Head Girl set to work, running warm water in the sink and rubbing the dye from the packet that Callie had brought her into Rose's hair. Callie sat cross-legged on the tiles, skimming interestedly through the disastrous spell book.

"Hey, guys. There's a spell in here that apparently stops eyeliner pencil from running, so maybe we could try that after we've-"

"NO!" Rose and Roxanne immediately snapped back. The three girls fell back into silence while they worked.

Several washes and a full dye later, Roxanne had almost finished drying off her cousin's hair with her wand. Where there would have been locks a mixture of auburn, red and orange before, a soft-as-silk blondeness now flowed over her fingers. She flicked her wand, cutting off the supply of hot air, and kicked Rose's chair with her foot. Rose jerked, blinking, and stood up. When she faced the mirror, she gasped. Fluffy and light, her hair – a normal shade of pale blonde, fortunately – curled around her face in gentle, slight waves. For the first time in her life, she was free of the Weasley stereotype, and it felt good. On impulse, she spun around and threw herself into Roxanne's arms. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you..."

Roxanne laughed, disentangling herself from her cousin. "You're welcome." She ran a hand through her own blonde hair and added, "So no, I'm not a natural blonde. There: my secret's out!" With the tanned skin that she got as a mixture from her mother and her father, it had been unlikely that her hair colour was genuine anyway. Rose still pretended to look shocked nevertheless.

"I'll see you at the party tonight, Roxie," Rose said, grinning almost maniacally again. She was so relieved that the spell hadn't permanently damaged her hair.

"Alright," Roxanne said. "Make sure you bring your-"

She was interrupted by Callie exploding with laughter. The girls standing turned to look down, confused, as their friend fell backwards onto the tile laughing. They asked what the matter was and, through gasping breaths, Callie gave the reply, "You should really check the labels of the books you read before you take them seriously." She broke off to giggle again. "This one's a _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_ product! Did you buy this?"

Rose, outraged that the book was full of prank spells, snapped, "Of course not!" Her happy bubble had been momentarily popped.

"Where did you get it from?" Callie asked, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.

"James got it me for Christmas, and- ohhhh," Rose cut off, giving herself a gentle slap to the head. "Of course it was a prank book!" The comprehension was soon replaced with anger, though, as she added fiercely, "He better have such a good costume that he's unrecognizable, I'm telling you, because if I get my hands on him..."


	6. Evacuate the Dance Floor

6. Evacuate the Dance Floor

_**Author's Note: **_**Yay for ridiculously clichéd chapter titles that I don't own! And, by now you've probably got that I don't own the story title or Harry Potter, so this disclaimer is lasting from here on in. Chances are that the rest of my chapters' titles will be from songs, so I won't own them either. /longdisclaimer**

**And, in case you're all up on grammar and shizzle: I was never sure whether to spell the word blonde, or blond. I thought that the masculine form was blond and the feminine form blonde, but now I know that's wrong. I now assume that the colour is 'blond', but if you're referring to someone as their hair colour – as in 'the brunette smiled' – it would be 'the blonde'. I think. I dunno. Either way, there are different spellings of it all over this story. Ignore them. xD**

**Right, the Halloween ball! Let the chaos ensue...**

Rose was ready, showered and made up, dressed in her homemade fairy outfit by quarter past eight. The catastrophe with her hair – which was now pinned back at the front only, and enchanted so that it shimmered and glittered every time she swung it over her shoulder – had set her back a bit time wise, but she wasn't bothered. What was fifteen minutes to a party that had the potential to last all night? She tied a white leather pouch around her waist, subtle and compact, to carry her money and makeup in, and checked to make sure her wings were still magically fluttering back and forth. She took a moment to adjust the tiny skirt that she'd made herself from the sarong – it showed an awful lot of pale, freckle-dotted leg – and then she was ready.

Perhaps she wouldn't win best costume, but she was still damn proud of herself for pulling one together.

In the common room, she bumped into Louis. The seventh year was dressed in medieval finery- silks and velvets in shades of forest green and deep burgundy. He also had a little, gold, glittering crown atop his thick blonde hair. "What are you?" she asked with a laugh, observing him closely. He brandished a stick in one hand that had a horse's head on top and haughtily replied that he was someone called 'Prince Charming'. "A Muggle thing," apparently. She wondered how he knew anything about Muggles, before concluding that it was probably from one of his sisters. She was sure one of them had taken Muggle Studies into a career.

James appeared soon after – none of the Weasley-Potters were very good timekeepers, apparently – in a red outfit, waving about a plastic, ruby-encrusted sword. He was Godric Gryffindor, and very peeved that he didn't have the genuine sword in his possession. The annoyance slipped his mind, however, once he was approached by some Gryffindor girls, all of whom asked him to be their date. He disappeared before Rose could question him about the fake spell book, regrettably.

Rose left the common room – pleased with the compliments that she had received over her costume from the few people she'd spoken to – and made her way down to the Great Hall. The party was already underway, with a live band that she didn't recognize screaming away up on the platform that had previously held the staff table. The only sources of light to the room were the huge pumpkins – some that were even taller than her – with the lanterns inside. They cast odd glows and brought up strangely shaped, abstract shadows of the people dancing in the room. There was a buffet to the right of the band, which Rose headed for immediately. She hadn't had a thing to eat all day. As she was helping herself to pumpkin pie she noticed her brother, Hugo, in the corner with his friends. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that shouted, in big white letters, 'I AM A MUGGLE.' Rose rolled her eyes; how original.

"I thought you weren't coming for a second," said a familiar voice behind her, strained to be loud enough over the music without shouting.

Rose turned, almost dropping her plate of pie in alarm when she came face to face with what looked like a genuine bone mask. The rest of the figure was draped in black robes. Its arm lifted and moved the mask up, revealing the grinning face of Scorpius Malfoy. "What _are_ you?" Rose asked, blinking up at him.

"A Death Eater," he sniggered, rolling his eyes and showing her his forearm, on which was a replica of the Dark Mark. Rose's eyes popped.

"You are _not_!" she said disbelievingly, amazed by his boldness but unsure whether to appreciate the humour or embrace disdain.

"I am," Scorpius replied, tapping the mask lightly.

"Bit risky, don't you think?" Rose asked, raising an auburn eyebrow.

"Not as risky as that skirt, Rosie," Scorpius laughed. "Jesus, what's it made of? And when did you become a blonde, anyway?"

Rose blushed at the skirt comment, one hand immediately dropping to adjust it at the back. It was outrageously short, she had to admit. Ignoring his first question, she answered the second instead. "I guess I just got inspired," she grinned, twirling a lock of pale hair around the fingers of her free hand.

Scorpius grinned back, observing Rose in her costume for a couple of long moments, before reaching behind her to get a goblet of juice. He downed it in one and replaced the container on the table. While he drank, Rose fidgeted in her outfit almost anxiously. "Loathe as I am to ask, what exactly are _you?_" Scorpius said once he was done. "The wings suggest fairy, but you never know." Rose nodded, confirming her identity and giving him a little twirl as if to prove her point.

"Okay then, fairy, do you want to dance?" Scorpius' request surprised her, but she accepted and they moved out onto the floor. Couples swirled around them, and Rose noticed Roxanne in her Veela outfit, which consisted of a white sheet draped to cover only the essentials. She looked stunning, but something in her eyes screamed danger and wildness. Their cousins were nowhere to be found; Rose guessed that they wouldn't want to be anywhere near Roxanne when she was dressed so provocatively. The absence of family from the dance floor was shocking. Rose almost felt incomplete, but it was a good feeling. Foreign, but pleasant. She could be herself without them around- heck, she could be someone else if she wanted to. She could do whatever she wanted without being judged by them.

Scorpius draped a black-robed arm around her waist in a way that she assumed he meant to seem casual. She could feel the tenseness in his muscles, however, and when she looked up her eyes came in contact with his Adam's apple. It bobbed continuously as he swallowed. Was he nervous touching her? They swayed naturally to the music, and Rose let her hands move up to his face. They passed his pale skin, however, and her hands took hold of the pulled-up Death Eater mask instead. With a gentle touch, she removed it from his head, looking at it curiously. It was quite unremarkable, this object that represented Lord Voldemort's reign of terror. She looked from the mask to Scorpius, taking in the greyness of his eyes that revealed nothing of his feelings, and went to put the mask back over his head. He took it from her hands before she could, though, and tossed it off the dance floor. It hit the wooden floor and spun, an indistinguishable blur of black and white, under the buffet table.

Rose watched it go, and when she turned back to Scorpius, found him closer than she'd expected. The beat of the music encouraged boldness; perhaps it was the feeling that nobody could see them in this dark hall, with the loud, impenetrable hum of the music. Her blue eyes lowered from his gaze to take in the rest of his features. His nose, long and pointed yet noticeably crooked from past injury; his cheekbones, so high that they gave him a constant haughty expression when he wasn't smiling; his chin, pale and pointed below thin, wide lips; and those lips, often curled into his trademark smirk that were now serious and still. The lack of conversation and banter didn't seem to bother either of them. In that moment, that long, drawn-out moment, they looked, for all the world, lost in each other. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but Rose was sure she saw Scorpius lean in to her slightly – almost as if to kiss her – but then the moment was gone.

A hard, strong shoulder was shoved into Scorpius' back. It sent him tumbling forwards into Rose, who held out her hands for protection but was knocked down anyway. He recovered his balance, frowning and wincing angrily as he looked around for the culprit. Rose stayed on the dance floor, somewhat winded, her fairy wings crushed beneath her like the baffling hope she'd felt just seconds before as she looked into the advancing face of Scorpius Malfoy.

Scorpius turned back, their attacker lost in the sea of writhing bodies, and a look of pure, dangerous frustration – as if it physically hurt him to see her – crossed his face when he saw Rose's crumpled form. Her pale legs stood out against the wide black expanse of black flooring and her pretty face was creased in pain. In the dim light with her blonde hair, she barely looked like the calm and casual friend he'd hung out with over the past month. He kneeled down, murmuring something vaguely coherent that sounded like, "C'mon, c'mon," as he lifted her to her feet. "Merlin, Rose, I'm sorry," he told her over the background noise, looking around again. "Some jerk rammed straight into the back of me. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Rose replied, though her voice was unusually strangled. She pushed one foot out in front of her, turning it from side to side and grimacing. "It's just my ankle. I think I kicked it when I fell." It was surprising how naturally they touched one another now: Scorpius held her hands to support her as she pressed down on her painful ankle and neither of them thought anything of it. It was completely different to the tentative, almost nervous way he'd handled her while they danced. The way they looked at each other was completely dissimilar to their intensity of their gazes under the bold trance of the music.

"Shit, Scorpius, it hurts," she said, biting on her lip gently. "Let's just get off the dance floor."

Scorpius obliged, helping her off to the side, but she could see the disappointment on his face. She didn't blame him; they'd been having a good time. But it had been James that had slammed into Scorpius; she'd seen his face over the blonde's shoulder. She'd seen the malice in his eyes and the spiteful curl of his lip. He'd done it on purpose, and if they went back on the dance floor he'd do it again. Knowing James, it could escalate into a full-blown duel within minutes.

"The fucker broke your wings," Scorpius growled, close enough to be heard in the loud room. He moved behind her and gently adjusted the wings, popping the netting back into place. They fluttered feebly in his hands, the enchantment on them worn weak from the fall.

Rose chuckled. "It's fine, Scorpius, forget about it. I think I just want to go to bed now."

"We've only been here half an hour, Rosie! C'mon..."

"I know," Rose answered. "But my ankle hurts and my head aches and you have no idea how long it takes me to get these sandals off." She gestured to the brown leather straps which wound up to her calves- they were straining around her ankle, which was swelling nastily and sporting a growing black bruise. Seeing the bruise, Scorpius reluctantly nodded.

"Alright, then, let's go."

"You stay here, okay?" Rose said, making her way slowly and steadily towards the door with a rather noticeable limp. "There's no point in you leaving so early."

"Don't be an idiot," he snapped back, hurrying forward to slip her arm around his shoulder. He hoisted her up straight, and heard her immediate sigh of relief. "It's not like I've got anyone else around here to hang out with anyway."

Ten or so minutes later, Rose found herself saying an awkward goodbye to Scorpius outside Gryffindor Tower, scrutinized by the portrait of the fat lady. As she limped upstairs to bed, her mind wandered lazily back to the short time she'd managed to spend at the Halloween party. She smiled as she unwrapped the ties of her shoes, rubbing her ankle gently and performing a couple of anti-pain spells to numb its consistent, mildly annoying throb. It hadn't been a very long night, but it had been a good one. It was only when she was tucked up under the covers of her four-poster, revelling in the silence of the empty dormitory that she remembered that moment on the dance floor, after Scorpius had thrown away his costume Death Eater mask. He'd been about to kiss her, she was sure of it.

And the scary thing was? She'd wanted him to.

_**Author's Note: **_

**A quick note to MicheleHarper, who spoke in her review about hopes of a kiss sometime soon: this chapter must seem like it was written just to torment you, mustn't it? Haha!**

**They'll together eventually, guys. Just you wait and see. ;D**

**Review, please! I ADORE THEM. They make my day whenever I get them. I always announce to the general public of the place I'm in, 'GOT ANOTHER REVIEW!'**


	7. Long Way to Happy

7. Long Way to Happy

_**Author's Note: **_**C'mon, subscribers! I love getting mails informing me of your loyalty, but it would be fabulous to meet you virtually as well. xD**

**And a quick question: Do any of you lovely readers actually WANT a smut scene for this story? I mean, I was totally planning on fitting one in here somewhere but if it's not wanted, I won't bother. It would still be rated M for language, I guess, if you don't- and I could always just do a little sexy outtake once it's finished.**

**Either way, read on and enjoy Noel's second unfortunate appearance.**

The first weekend in November was a Hogsmeade trip. Everything soon faded back into normality after the baffling Halloween party; Rose and Scorpius settled back into the comfortable friendship, Roxanne bragged about winning the best costume award and the enchanted night seemed to feel so far away. The only thing that Rose regretted was her unfinished essay for Potions. She got her first detention of the year, and endured it miserably. Still, she supposed, the night had been worth it. Quite a lot of things seemed worth her trouble these days.

Rose was the first to reach the courtyard with her permission slip on the seventh of November. After a week of newly gruelling lessons – the school's professor's seemed to be cramming knowledge into their students early on so that they could focus on revision for exams after Christmas – she was glad to be out in the fresh air. The weather had rapidly declined, so she was wrapped up in jeans, a blue jumper and a white body warmer. Her red and yellow Gryffindor scarf was wound around her neck, clashing horrifically with the calm colours of her outfit. It was cold, but better than the suffocating heating system of the castle. With cool pale hands, she gave her slip to the Headmistress.

Before long, people started to fill the little space. Rose saw Lily bound in, wearing the red button-up coat that Roxanne had bought her for her birthday a couple of days before, and waved pleasantly. The girls met, greeting each other with a hug before launching immediately into a quick gossip.

"Blonde!"

Rose turned at the seemingly random call, and raised an eyebrow.

"It doesn't have the same effect as Red, does it?" Scorpius asked, approaching her. He was wearing black jeans and a burgundy jumper, his floppy grey hat on his head. "I'm running out of nicknames for you. Damn it, I might actually have to start calling you by your real name if I'm not careful."

"Hey, Scorpius," Rose greeted with a chuckle. Her blonde hair had drawn mixed reactions out of her family. Louis, Roxanne and Lily liked it, but James and Albus disagreed and Hugo just found it weird. He couldn't get used to seeing his sister without the flames atop her head.

Rose glanced sideways at Lily. Though she was pleased to see her friend, she was nervous as to how her cousin would react. Lily just smiled pleasantly at Scorpius, though, before scanning the other students for her own friends.

"So... you still friendless for this Hogsmeade trip?" Scorpius asked offhandedly.

"Yeah, pretty much," Rose laughed. "Why, do you want to go with me?" Her eyes glittered mischievously.

"Wow, way to beat me to the punch," Scorpius replied, before adding with completely put-on nonchalance, "But, yeah, totally, I guess I could hang around with you today."

"I'm so honoured!" was Rose's reply as she rolled her eyes.

The pair took off at a fast walk when the gates were opened, leading the giggling, chatting and stumbling group of students down to the village of Hogsmeade. She always felt a desperate longing for each of these trips, but when she reached the village she could never really think of anything to do. Her routine was simple: a trip to Honeydukes for midnight snacks; a visit to see Uncle George at the small Weasley's Wizard Wheeze's branch in Hogsmeade, if he was there (he was often at the main store in Diagon Alley, so if he wasn't present she'd have a quick chat to Verity, the manager); a quick browse around the clothes stores followed by a couple of butterbeers in The Three Broomsticks. Maybe a trip with Scorpius could make her do something a bit different.

"Your scarf looks ridiculous," Scorpius suddenly commented, taking a quick look at Rose out of the corner of his eye.

"Uh- well- excuse me!" Rose spluttered, her hands automatically rising to clutch at the warm material. "I'll have you know that, well-!" She paused to look at him through narrowed eyes. "So does yours!"

Scorpius fell silent, and then looked comically between his scarf and Rose.

"See?" Rose said, raising one eyebrow as they walked along.

Scorpius paused, considering something, before venturing, "Swapsies?"

"Definitely," Rose said, slipping her red and yellow scarf over her head and trading it for Scorpius' blue and grey one. As she wound it around her neck she inhaled the foreign scent of Scorpius Malfoy. She couldn't pinpoint what it smelt like, only that it reminded her of him. "So, where are you taking me this Hogsmeade trip?" she asked, smiling coyly.

"Ah, I don't know- where do you wanna go?"

Rose groaned. "I hate decision-making!"

"Well, I need to go to the post office at some point. I've got a letter home I need to post." As far as Rose knew, letters were the only way that Scorpius and his parents kept in touch. "And Honeyduke's is a must."

"What about the Shrieking Shack?" Rose asked in an attempt to deviate Scorpius from the norm.

"They're renovating it," he told her as they reached the entrance to Hogsmeade. "It's being turned into Hogsmeade's first hotel, or something."

"No way!" Rose argued. "It's, like, Hogsmeade's biggest tourist attraction? Who's going to pay a sickle each to come and look at a hotel?"

"Nobody," Scorpius immediately replied, "but hundreds of people will pay ten Galleons a night to sleep in one."

"Good point."

Without even really thinking about it, Rose followed Scorpius to the post office. It was a huge building, six or seven stories high and, upon entering, the first thing she noticed was the unpleasant smell. The second thing was the copious amount of owls that sat, perched in named, colour-coded shelving units. Feathers and droppings covered almost everything- the staff were forced to work beneath a wooden canopy of a structure, and carried large umbrellas when they moved to and from the shelves. Scorpius took an umbrella from one of the many stands by the entrance, and gently – almost hesitantly – steered Rose closer to him by the waist until she was under cover. She noticed that he didn't look at her when he touched her, and wondered again if he found it weird.

They posted the letter. Another thing that Rose noticed was that Scorpius effortlessly paid extra – almost without second thought, it seemed – for first class. The first class owls were sleek, black and nasty-looking. Rose's family always used the scruffy-looking brown owls. Their services were free. Even if your mail did occasionally get lost – occasionally meaning ninety percent of the time, of course – then perhaps that letter just wasn't meant to be sent, her father reasoned.

"Don't you have your own owl?" Rose asked, once they were back in the busy Hogsmeade streets. The unspoken 'you're rich enough to' lingered in the air.

"Nah," Scorpius replied, starting off in the direction of Honeydukes. "I don't do pets. Always forget to feed them and give them general tender loving care."

Rose snorted, unsurprised. "I'm just going to pop down to Gladrags Wizardwear, okay? Meet you back here in ten." She needed a new school shirt, and thought she might as well buy herself a new one with her own money instead of telling her family and getting one of Louis or James' old ones- they were always way too baggy for her. In the shop, she purchased two new shirts for a few sickles. They weren't Hogwarts-made ones, but much more fitted ones with three quarter sleeves. Roxanne wore similar, and they hugged her figure stunningly. Not that she and Roxanne were in competition for looks, of course, Rose thought. Her cousin was annoyingly gorgeous.

Once she was done, she made her way back to Honeydukes. She saw her cousin, Albus, on the way, and waved. Scorpius was sat on a bench outside, searching through a gold plastic bag with the famous chocolatier's name written across the front. She greeted him again quickly, and sat down beside him. He held out a big bar of Honeydukes' special extra creamy milk chocolate. She stared at him.

"Well, go on then. Take it," Scorpius said, clearly feeling a little awkward.

"What, that's for me?" Rose asked, blue eyes widening. She held her hands out, but only to shake them defensively. "No, no, I can't accept that."

"Why?" the blond boy asked. "It's only chocolate. Go on, Rosie. Indulge."

Hesitantly, she took it. "I didn't have you pinned as one for gifts, Scorpius Malfoy."

"Guess you learn something new every day, then, Rose Weasley," he replied, getting a bar for himself out of the bag and unwrapping it. His grey eyes shone with amusement as he took a bite.

"Thanks, anyway..." she added as an afterthought, smiling.

They ate in quiet for a moment, silently observing their busy, bustling surroundings. A particular group of people caught their attention. A group of students stood by the grass in the space between The Three Broomsticks and the post office, leaning against a brick wall and chatting. They looked old, seventh years, and some of them were familiar. Suddenly, a shorter figure with black hair rushed up the centre. The Red Sea of seventh years parted immediately, revealing James in the very middle. Albus – the shorter figure – hurried up to him and said something. It looked urgent. Rose was worrying about what it was until James looked up from his brother and straight at her. She saw him look to Scorpius with cold, calculating brown eyes and then back to her. His gaze was fierce and hateful, and she shivered.

"I didn't ask for it, you know."

She turned to look at Scorpius as he spoke.

"I don't like it." There was a baffling pause. "I'm not stupid- I know how much they hate me. And I didn't do anything to deserve it, Rose. Seriously." He looked at her and she saw vulnerability there, a deep vulnerability that she'd never seen surface before.

"I- I know you didn't," Rose said, her blue eyes impossibly wide. "Does it... does it bother you-?"

"Bother me?" Scorpius snorted. "Of course it fucking bothers me." Rose had noticed that, whenever he bared feelings that he considered weak, he seemed to swear, as if to toughen up his appearance. But he didn't fool her; she could hear the upset in his voice.

"You should ignore them," she told him. "If they're thick enough to despise you because of your name then they're not worth bothering with."

"That's easy for you to say, Rose," he snapped back. "You're one of them. You don't have to endure the lunchtime duels whenever McGonagall's not looking."

His words stung her harshly. "I'm not one of them," she mumbled back, clutching the chocolate bar in her hands fiercely.

"You are. Maybe you're not as much a prejudiced, arrogant twat as the rest of them are, but you're still one of them. If it came down to it, you'd choose..." He cut off.

"What?!" Rose said, her tone becoming as harsh as his all of a sudden. "I'd choose _what_? Them, over you?" She thought she saw Scorpius actually flush for a second. "Well, right now I probably would- they're not the ones calling me an arrogant, prejudiced twat!"

Scorpius looked slightly guilty almost straight away. "I didn't mean it like that," he told her.

"You did," she told him, crossing her arms and dropping the chocolate onto the bench. "Or else you wouldn't have said it. I get that what they do pisses you off, but don't take it out on me."

Scorpius scratched the back of his blond head and began, "I'm sor-"

"Rosie Weasley, look at your hair!"

Rose, red and annoyed, turned her body on the bench. She scanned the crowded streets for the source of the voice, and saw a hand reaching above the bobbing heads to wave at her. Seconds later, a tousled and adorably handsome Noel Hunter stumbled out of the chaos to stand before her. "Phew, it's cold today, innit?" he said, pulling the green woollen hat he wore closer around his ears. Scorpius, beside Rose, watched him through emotionless – yet strangely hard – eyes.

"Look at you, though! A blonde! You're a stunner, Rosie, I'm telling you," Noel said, pulling her up from her bench and into his arms for a hug.

Rose fell into the hug, conscious the entire time of Scorpius' constant stare on her back. "Hey, Noel," she greeted awkwardly against his chest. "I didn't know you got days off for Hogsmeade trips."

"I don't," Noel laughed, loosening his grip on her so she could step away. "But Roxie asked me to come with her, so I thought: what the hell?" He chuckled again, and then cleared his throat to continue. "Everyone's in The Three Broomsticks, and apparently she wants to check out your hair or something to make sure it's still looking alright. Do you want to come back with me? They're all just up the road, and they're not sure how many drinks to order..."

Rose hesitated, taking an automatic glance at the blond boy on the bench behind her. He looked up at her coldly, all the regret and guilt that had been in his eyes when she was sure he'd been about to apologize gone now.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Noel said, giving Scorpius a little wave. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I can go up and tell them you're busy if you-"

"No," Rose snapped, cutting him off. "We're done here." She gave the Ravenclaw only one backwards glance as she moved quickly away down the cold street with Noel.

From his distance, Scorpius could see them as they resumed conversation, Noel affectionately plonking his green hat down on Rose's head and laughing as she squealed and fought to pull it off. He averted his gaze, focusing instead on the abandoned bar of Honeyduke's milk chocolate that she had left behind.


	8. Paparazzi

8. Paparazzi

**Author's Note: ROFL ROFL. Your hilarious (and lovely) reviews – "I want smut," basically, – pressed me to update again today, even though I wasn't going to. Keep on reviewing, guys- you give me such a great ego boost!**

**This one's a short chapter, I'm afraid, and the next one's even shorter- but don't worry! Things will get back to normal soon!**

On the Monday morning after the Hogsmeade trip, Rose was faced with quite a surprising event: she received an owl from her parents that consisted of simply one – extremely official and important-looking – letter. Usually, she received a battered, torn up pile of packages that included random affectionate bric-a-brac from around the Weasley household. So, when Errol II landed beside her at breakfast, she and Hugo were shocked and immediately suspicious. Rose took the letter in nervous hands, petting her jittery family owl gently before sending him off again.

Sliding her fingernail beneath the letter flap, she ripped it open and took out the couple of pages of heavy parchment. Hugo took the discarded envelope and read it over as Rose scanned the first few lines of the letter. "This is from dad," he told the general public, "so I don't know why he's used the good parchm- hey! Where are you going?" He watched as Rose stood from the table, the letter screwed into a bulky ball in her right hand. "Rose?" She scanned the table quickly, and then turned back.

"Where's James?" she asked tightly, her left hand curled into such a tight fist that her knuckles were going white.

"Doing an independent early morning practice with our newest Chaser," Hugo replied, knowing enough about his sister to realize when asking questions wasn't a good idea. "But he should be wrapping things up now."

Before he could elaborate, she was off and down the Great Hall at a run. Hugo rubbed his head, blinking and wondering about his sister's bizarre behaviour.

Rose slammed through the doors to the Entrance Hall, sending a group of first years nearby into a nervous, scattered mess. She stomped, wand in one hand and her balled-up paper in the other, onto the grounds and down the path. Her whole body shook with fury, her face set in the middle of her blowing, wild strands of blonde hair. Within minutes she reached the Quidditch pitch, her school shoes wet and muddy with the force of her stomping feet. She was freezing cold, though the bright flush that had settled over her cheeks showed nothing.

As she burst onto the field, she saw James standing in the centre. He was directing a pretty black-haired girl in a broom, praising her and clapping whenever she performed a particularly outlandish manoeuvre. Without second thought, Rose thundered, "James Sirius Potter!" He spun around, alarmed. "What did you do?" She brandished the letter in one hand as she stormed up to him. He looked baffled, and just a little bit frightened. _"What did you do?"_

James' eyes finally focused on the letter- the words 'Scorpius', 'Rose' and 'unacceptable' stuck out to him the most, and comprehension finally dawned on his face. It quickly turned to defence. He looked slightly smug, as well, though the edges of his expression were tinted with fear. "Look, Rose, it was for your own good. You and this Malfoy kid; I've no idea what you've been doing-!"

"And so you shouldn't!" Rose interrupted angrily, screwing the letter up again. "It's none of your business who my friends are!" He went to argue, but she spoke over him. "And how _dare_ you write a letter to my father in order to intervene?! You're so fucking up your own arse, James. What gives you the right to have a say in everyone else's business?"

"The safety and dignity of my family gives me the right!" James snapped back.

"What, you think Scorpius would compromise my safety and my dignity?"

"To be perfectly honest, yes, I think he would," James replied quite haughtily.

"You don't know him, James!" Rose said, her voice tight and painful. "You know _nothing_ about him. You just think that he's this psychopath out to have his wicked way with me because of the tales surrounding his father. That is _nothing_ to do with Scorpius!"

"Why does it matter to you, anyway, Rose?" James asked suddenly. "Rumour has it, you finished my job for me on the Hogsmeade trip- are you and the Malfoy even speaking now?"

"Oh, so _what_, James? We _fell out_. Everyone falls out, it's not permanent. In fact, after this, I fully intend to head back up to breakfast to find Scorpius and make things right."

"Slag." The word was quiet, but pointedly aimed at her. James, with nerves of steel, looked her straight in the eye as he said it.

"_What?!"_ Rose exclaimed, taking an immediate step forward, her hand gripped tightly around her wand.

"That's what people call you," James said, subtly backtracking. "'Malfoy's Slag,' they say, 'Oh, yeah, that's Rose Weasley.'" James' eyes narrowed. He seemed so caught up in the argument now that he'd completely forgotten the poor sixth year girl circling nervously overhead. "That's what you're known as now, Rosie. _The Girl that Fucked Scorpius Malfoy_. That's what he says about you. All the Ravenclaws know."

"That's not true," Rose whimpered, her wand arm dropping to her side, the wood dangling limply between her fingertips. "None of it's true. We didn't... and he wouldn't have..." All the fight had literally been taken out of her with one word. She'd always had a good reputation, Rose had- mainly because she focused so hard on maintaining it. How could she follow in the footsteps of some of the greatest wizards of all time if she didn't keep up her reputation? Now, if what James said was true – and Rose, despite herself, had started to believe it – that could all be ruined. What would her mother say? Oh, God, what would her aunts and uncles say?

"Damn it if I'm going to let my cousin's life be ruined from some scum of a Malfoy and his nasty rumours. If you hadn't been sitting beside him at Hogsmeade I would have hexed the shit out of him, Rose, I'm telling you. I won't let him hurt you anymore." James words did nothing to reassure her. All she felt still for cousin was revulsion- and now she felt as if the months she spent getting to know Scorpius had been a lie. Had he been spreading things about her? It didn't seem likely... but she knew he had a nasty side, and she always got funny looks from people when they saw her with him. Was it because of what he'd told them all? And would James lie about something as big as this?

Rose found herself thinking back in time. The memories came in flashes: Scorpius leaning against the wall in the Hogwarts Express and laughing – Scorpius leaping out at her in the Forbidden Forest with a roar and a laugh – Scorpius in the broom cupboard, holding his breath as they hid from Filch – Scorpius' genuine smile when he heard what Rose would get him for Christmas – Scorpius at the ball, looking at her in her costume with that appreciative glint in his grey eyes – Scorpius pulling her close under the umbrella in the post office – Scorpius handing her the milk chocolate – Scorpius leaning in to kiss her at Halloween...

She broke free of the memories, staggering backwards and dropping the letter to the ground. Had it all been a lie?

James watched her through unreadable brown eyes as she turned and left the pitch in silence, heading back up to the castle. He had no idea if what he said had worked; but he'd gotten her to listen, and that was the best he'd been hoping for. Bending down, he plucked the letter out of the dirt. On it, his Uncle Ronald had given strict instructions for her to stay away from Malfoy- unfortunately, he'd also mentioned that Albus and James had been the one to report the friendship. Still, James would rely on anything – truth or lies – to keep Scorpius Malfoy away from his family and back into the lonely hole where he belonged.

The Malfoys would pay for Draco's mistakes; one way or another.


	9. Another Heart Calls

9. Another Heart Calls

**Author's Note: If you thought you hated James before, you're really going to hate him now!**

**Short chapter, though, which I apologize for. 3**

"... Five Galleons, eight Sickles and three Knuts. Fucking hell, Hunter, you'll be asking for my soul, next."

"I was actually considering putting my rates up, but if you can't afford it..."

"Just try it and you'll find a Gryffindor team Bludger knocking you into next week before you can say 'Blast-Ended Skrewt.'"

"Alright, James, mate, I was only joking."

Two boys stood in the dim light of the library corridor. James Potter was the taller, dressed in all black, his brown eyes shining dully. Noel Hunter stood before him in jeans and some form of printed t-shirt, his brown hair fashionably mussed with his usual slightly mischievous expression. There was something suspicious and forbidden about the whole meeting- the subject of the chat wasn't clear, but it certainly didn't seem legitimate.

"So, let me get this straight again... what exactly am I doing for _this_ money?" Noel asked, leaning against the door to the library.

"Are you thick, Hunter? All you need to do is ask out Rose and make her believe you fancy the pants off her long enough for her admirer to back the hell off," James replied, rolling his eyes. "Not hard. Though doing it in front of the Malfoy might get you another Galleon or two."

"Yeah, a'right, that's fine. That's it?"

"Yeah, that's all. Just ask Rose out around Christmas and you'll get the rest of the money." James seemed to think of something else as Noel turned to leave, and he continued. "Oh, and Hunter? If you try to undress my cousin in any way or go further than I've told you, I will personally hunt you down and make you wish you'd never been born. Are we clear?"

"Why are you doing this, James?" Noel asked, ignoring the question.

"Because I hate the Malfoy name and all it stands for." The answer was given in a sure, strong voice.

"Do you hate him more than you love your family?"

James blinked at the question. "What's it to you, Hunter?"

Noel raised his hands in defence, and shrugged. The two males watched each other warily for a second. Noel was the older of the two by far but he was by no means the one with the power. "You're twisted, you know that?"

"You're the one agreeing to break a girl's heart for some money, library-boy, so I'd shut your mouth," James snarled in response.

Noel nodded. "Good point." After exchanging a few more details of their plan, the pair ended their sinister talk and parted ways. Noel slipped back into the darkness of the deserted library to stare dejectedly at the handful of money he'd been given, and James went up to Gryffindor tower to fall into a guiltless, deep sleep.


	10. When Love Takes Over

10. When Love Takes Over

**Author's Note: Now, about Rose in this chapter. Yes, she is being stupid and she is extremely conflicted about her friendship-maybe-more thing with Scorpius against her old crush on Noel. She's not confident in her confrontational skills enough to tell Scorpius what James has said, so in this chapter she does what she thinks it for the best.**

**Chances are, you won't like this chapter much at all. xD And just a note in advance: the next one might take a while to be posted. Other than that, enjoy!**

That year, the weeks leading up to Hogwarts' Christmas seemed lonely- especially for Rose. She'd completely alienated Scorpius. At first she hadn't meant to, it had just been an instinctive reaction to what James had told her, but she quickly fell into the habit of ignoring him. He made no move to approach her, and Rose couldn't quite tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was like the first time they'd fallen out: they adapted as well to enmity as they did to friendship.

Her relationship with Scorpius fell to the very back of her mind, however, when – on the day before Christmas Eve – Noel Hunter had stood outside Gryffindor Tower, requesting her to speak with him.

---

"Rose?" Leah Wood called, sticking her head around the archway into the seventh year Gryffindor girls' dormitory.

Rose, who was lounged on her bed reading Witch Weekly whilst brushing her blonde hair, looked up. "Oh, hey, Leah. What's up?"

"There's some guy outside the portrait, asking for you."

Rose blinked. "It's, like... half eleven."

"I know," Leah replied apologetically. "But he won't go away."

Hesitating for only a moment, Rose swung her legs off the bed, tossing the magazine onto her pillow. As she made her way into the common room with Leah, she wondered half-heartedly if it was Scorpius outside. She supposed he was too proud to come to her domain and beg for forgiveness after the Hogsmeade trip, though. Besides, if he'd been planning to do that, he would have done it as soon as they'd fallen out. As a second thought, she turned to her Gryffindor housemate. "Who is it?"

Leah shrugged. "I dunno; we wouldn't let him in."

"Great," Rose muttered beneath her breath, adjusting her clothes. She was still in her school uniform, sans the robes; a tight white shirt, short grey skirt and a tie. It was fine for hanging around in her dorm, but not so much for meeting mysterious strangers at night. Still, she pushed open the portrait and slipped outside, pulling it closed behind her. Out of the darkness came Noel. She smiled, relieved; a friend. In fact, their friendship had grown even closer since Rose's and Scorpius' had broken down. She spent most of her Hogsmeade trips in the library these days.

Despite her relief, she still felt uncomfortable in her school clothes.

"Hi, Rose," the older male greeted, pulling her close with one arm and enveloping her in a warm hug. Even after everything, she felt the butterflies from her old crush for him. It didn't help that this hug lasted particularly long. "How are you?"

"I'm, um, I'm great," Rose replied, nodding once she'd pulled back from the hug. "What are you doing here, anyway, asking for my presence in the middle of the night?" She chuckled. "For all you know, I could have been fast asleep in bed by now."

"Rosie Weasley, in bed before twelve? I don't think so," Noel laughed, shaking his head. "But yeah. I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me. Just you and me, I mean."

Rose stood in shock for a moment at his request. It sounded like he was asking her on... a _date_ or something. But that couldn't be right, could it? "Sure," she replied, still looking surprised to Noel's secret amusement. "When do you want to go?"

"Well, you haven't got another trip for a few weeks and I'm going to be working hard during the day pretty much every weekend, so how about we meet up in the Entrance Hall tomorrow at eleven and sneak out?" His eyes sparkled with mischief at just the thought of getting out of Hogwarts undetected.

"Sneak out? Tomorrow? It's Christmas Eve tomorrow." Rose repeated. It wasn't unusual to her, breaking the rules, but the idea of sneaking out with _Noel Hunter..._

"Yeah," Noel chuckled. "Don't worry, it's no big deal. It'll be fun. Everywhere will be covered in pretty lights."

"Okay," Rose agreed, watching as he disappeared into the darkness of the corridor. He was good at that, she thought. Disappearing. "No big deal."

---

It hadn't been 'no big deal' to Rose, though, when they'd had dinner at a cute little all-night place on the outskirts of Hogsmeade and Noel had told her all about his plans for the future; it hadn't been 'no big deal' to Rose when he'd put his arm around her as they walked leisurely back to Hogwarts under the light of the moon; it hadn't been 'no big deal' to Rose when he'd touched her face gently in the darkness of Gryffindor tower and kissed her on the lips. It was _definitely_ a very _big_ deal when he met her outside her common room the next day – Christmas day – to walk her down to breakfast, holding hands.

Somehow, overnight, Rose had gone from being somewhat miserably single to in the relationship of her dreams. Girls glared at her in envy when she walked down the corridor with Noel; even Roxanne was jealous, she could tell, though the older girl pretended not to be. The teachers noticed the couple, of course, and blatantly disapproved- but even they made no move to intervene. Noel was only eighteen, two years older than Rose, and she was sensible. They were sure that she was sensible.

So, she was in the relationship of her dreams. Why didn't it feel as amazing as she thought it would? Well, after just one Christmas morning with her library hunk of a new boyfriend, Rose had to admit that it was because of a certain blonde Ravenclaw with the blank expression and the downcast eyes. She and Scorpius still weren't speaking. If anything, it had gotten drastically worse; after they'd first fallen out, Scorpius had sent her glances and the occasional smile. Now, he wasn't even looking at her. News travelled fast, it seemed. Scorpius' absence from her life bothered her more than she liked to acknowledge, and gave her a constant clench of the stomach that she tried her very best to ignore.

The castle was awash with bright lights and colour for the Christmas holiday. The Weasleys and Potters had chosen to stay at school – much to the annoyance of all their parents – with their friends to celebrate Christmas, so Rose's morning was busy. After breakfast – a magnificent early feast – she went back up to the common room with Noel. He accompanied her and her family as they opened their presents, apologizing profusely that he hadn't bought Rose anything when she handed him a chocolate frog from her trunk that she'd wrapped in Daily Prophet before she went to bed after their date. It was odd- Rose swore that James (whom she was still cold with) was on edge the entire time that Noel was there. She supposed it was just him being protective. He'd helped her dodge a bullet with Scorpius, after all, hadn't he?

Rose's presents were a mixed pile. From Lily she received a magical makeup set with three, tiny, nail-varnish-sized bottles of love potion from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' girly section. This she rolled her eyes at. From Roxanne she received a box of blonde hair dye and some perfume. This she laughed at and assured Roxanne that, once the hair dye she currently had in had reached its limit, she was returning to her natural hair colour. From Louis and Albus she received two different Quidditch shirts; a Chudley Cannons one from Louis and a Puddlemere United one from Albus. James bought her socks. She immediately – albeit involuntarily – thought of Scorpius. The rest of her gifts faded in comparison to Hugo's, though. Hugo had, with the help of some other relative, obviously, bought her a broomstick.

And she was a stunner. Her name – Nimbus three point nought – was present in curly silver script across the broom handle, besides which there was a little custom symbol of a red rose. Rose, almost overcome with emotion, wondered how much it had cost Hugo to put such a little affectionate symbol on an already expensive racing broomstick. With nothing more than a tight hug for her brother, Rose was out of the dormitory at a run to find a place to try out her present. Screw the fact that it was slippy and wet outside; screw the fact that all her friends wanted to chat and exchange gifts; screw the fact that it was probably about to snow. The Nimbus lusted for attention; something that Rose was in no position to refuse.

As she leapt down the steps outside the Entrance Hall, Rose breathed in the crisp, cold winter air and headed towards the lake. She always loved flying above the lake- the water was so clear from the sky. Her dolly shoes – not the best footwear for flying or walking over wet terrain, she realized – crunched as she approached the shore, shielded slightly from the wind by a large tree whose branches hung low over the water. Moving the broom to her right side, Rose let go of it and watched it hover alertly in the air, waiting for her weight to settle upon it.

"So, what's your problem, then?"

The haughty voice that echoed from somewhere above her made Rose jump and she spun in circles as she looked for the source of the noise.

"Up here."

She looked up to see Scorpius sitting on one of the higher branches of the lakeside tree, all wrapped up in a black coat and boots. He was wearing his grey hat, like always. For a moment, Rose could say nothing. All she could do was stare- stare up at him in complete an utter shock. Why was he near her? Why was he looking at her, let alone talking to her? "What?" she managed to force out, the sight of him so close bringing back memories good and bad.

"What's your problem?" he shuffled on the branch and then leapt down, landing gracefully in front of her. His black boots dug into the soggy ground a little. "We don't talk anymore. Was it because of that stupid Hogsmeade thing? You know I was sorry about that." By his tone, she knew he was putting on the tough, nonchalant thing he always did when he was nervous or upset. She felt herself doubting the things that James had told her for a brief moment. How could the little boy beneath the hard exterior bear to hurt her so badly when he couldn't even really take being away from her?

"It's not about that," Rose said, her guard still very much up as she took hold of her broomstick again.

"Then what is it?" Scorpius' face looked hard and annoyed; Rose could feel the frustration emanating from him.

Rose bit her lip. "I'm going out with Noel now," she told him, as if breaking some awful truth to him. As if he didn't already know.

"Yeah, I know," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. He tried to ignore the heat that tinged his brain and provoked his anger at her words. "It's not like I'm asking for a shag off you, Rose. We were friends, weren't we? Didn't you say that yourself? Why has anything changed just because of this library guy? If he's telling you we can't meet up..."

"No, he's not," the Gryffindor girl cut across. "But have you heard what people have been saying about us? Everyone's getting the wrong idea..."

"Everyone?" Scorpius repeated. "Who the hell's _'everyone'_? I have no idea what you're on about, Rose, but even if I did I'd think you were some crazy-ass imposter. Since when does Rose Weasley care about what other people think?" He spat the last words at her, eyes sparkling with the hostility that protected the weakness beneath.

"Ever since I've been known as 'Malfoy's slag!'" Rose snapped back, her voice cracking and wetness springing into her eyes. She left out the fact that she was sure Scorpius had been the one spreading rumours. "Ever since people have been repulsed by me because of all the horrible things I've apparently been getting up to with _you_!" The display stunned Scorpius into silence for just a moment.

"Who said that about you?" he asked her, his voice trembling with anger. "Who?!"

"What does it matter to you, Scorpius?" she asked, countering his question with one of her own. "You can't do anything about it."

"I can," he insisted. "If you'd just-"

"No. Let it go, Scorpius. We don't work anymore. Our friendship isn't worth it." The emotion she'd been feeling, all the memories she'd been desperately suppressing... it all disappeared. It was better, she decided, to end it and feel nothing. Grief and regret attempted to consume her as she spoke but she pushed them back. If she cut her ties with Scorpius then he couldn't hurt her anymore. She wouldn't feel irrational longing for him whenever they stopped talking or whenever he was behaving like a prat; she wouldn't have to worry about what people thought of her, or what impression she was giving out; she wouldn't have to constantly worry and wonder whether this was what it felt like to be falling for a Malfoy. She could go back to the castle and endure the Christmas holidays with Noel, her _boyfriend_.

Yes. Life would be a lot simpler without Scorpius Malfoy in it.

"Please, Rose, what are you _doing?"_ Scorpius responded, finally showing cracks in his proud facade as he reached out a hand and snatched at her wrist. "I don't give a shit what 'everybody's' saying. Forget them."

"Just leave me alone, Malfoy," Rose cut in, in such an uncharacteristically dead voice that it caused even the usually unmoveable Scorpius to drop her wrist like it was burning him. "I don't _need_ you anymore."

Her words visibly stung him as he moved back, face trying in vain to shield his pained expression. His proud nature wouldn't let her have the last word, though. Once he'd pulled himself together, the hard-faced self-importance took over his features again, as he said low and dangerously, "Fuck you, then, Rose Weasley. Fuck you."

Then he walked away, leaving Rose deflated on the shoreline of Hogwarts' great lake.


	11. She Cries

11. She Cries

**Author's Note: I tried to explain in the first part of this chapter a little more about how Rose is feeling about the whole situation, in case anyone thought she was sounding a little crazy. xD**

**& Oh jeez, fail. I accidentally named Harry was Rose's father in chapter three; that has been changed to uncle.**

The rest of Christmas day passed miserably. Rose was in an emotionless daze the entire time, impossible to talk to and frustrating to interact with. Her family were worried and quietly curious and Noel seemed a little concerned, but James... James could be mistaken as smug. He seemed completely uncaring about Rose's situation and wholly unsuspicious. It was almost as if he had some idea of what had been going on.

Rose went to bed early, that night, retiring to her dormitory at just eight o'clock. She'd snatched her presents up into rigid arms and carried them with her, dumping them sloppily into the trunk at the end of her bed. Her cousins and brother watched every sulky move until she was out of sight.

Rose lay on her bed for almost two and a half hours, unable to sleep but desperate for some release from reality. It had been her decision to break her friendship with Scorpius, she knew, so she had to live with it. She just couldn't understand why it was plaguing her so. She'd liked Scorpius, sure; he was funny and intelligent and attractive. There had never been anything between them that was actively more than just friends, but Rose found herself having to acknowledge the fact that there could have been. If he'd made a move, she wouldn't have said no.

Perhaps that's what worried her so; being the first Weasley to break the ranks and love someone just a little bit different. Noel was _safe_. Noel was every 'normal' girl's living dream. He was good-looking, pleasant, somewhat smart... but Rose couldn't help but get the feeling, now that she was able to see him from such an intimate point of view, that he was more than a little shallow. He was nice, but there was nothing _interesting_ about him.

And if Scorpius Malfoy was anything, it was interesting.

It was eleven o'clock before any of the other sixth year Gryffindor girls dragged themselves up to bed, exhausted from their Christmas celebrations. Leah Wood, one of Rose's friendly acquaintances, was one of the last in. She twirled to her four-poster, singing Christmas carols and laughing about all the hilarious things Louis Weasley had been getting up to in the common room all evening. As she slipped into her pyjamas and got into bed, she turned to Rose's bed-curtains as a second thought and told her, "Oh, yeah, and Rose? Someone left something for you down in the common room."

Immediately – just glad for something to do besides lie there, really – Rose sat up, pulling the curtains back and poking her head out. "Who did? What is it?"

"I dunno what it is," Leah replied, sitting in her bed and pulling her hair up into a ponytail. "Just a package, I guess. A Christmas present. It doesn't have a tag on it so I don't know who brought it- someone's just written 'Rose Weasley' across the wrappings with a quill. I don't even know how it got into the common room, to be honest. I just noticed it when I went to put my drink on the end table."

"Okay," Rose said thoughtfully, feeling something other than blank sorrow for the first time all day. "Thanks, Leah." She swung her pyjama-ed legs out of bed and went downstairs. The common room was in disarray; Christmas present paper, common room ornaments and general litter was slung all around the place, but it was otherwise empty. Rose could hear muffled voices from all around her, though. She supposed people had decided to take the party elsewhere. It took a couple of minutes of searching before she finally found the package left for her.

It sat, fat and squat, on an end table by the fireplace. Blue paper shielded its insides from the public eye, and her name was written across the top in a script that, though it looked messy scribbled across the bumpy present, was clearly neat and precise in real life. The object itself looked quite battered; the paper was creased and ripped in a couple of places, and the ribbon around the gift was distorted. It looked, actually, as if it had been wrapped with great care but then given to a hopelessly clumsy owl that sent it halfway around the world.

A little apprehensive, Rose sat down on one of the big red couches and simply held it in her hands for a couple of moments. It went again everything her parents had taught her to open something when she didn't know what was inside. She'd heard tales of cursed necklaces and innocent female victims. Still, curiosity got the best of her and she tore the paper off in one with a deep breath.

The Honeydukes logo screamed brightly at her from its place atop a pretty, pink box of chocolates. Beneath the chocolates was quite an ordinary History of Magic book, apart from the fact that it was clearly a collector's edition. There were various historical illustrations on the cover, as well as the title: 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Lord.' Flipping open the front cover and dreading what she knew was inside, Rose let her blue eyes wander over the scribbles and drawings that Scorpius Malfoy had added to the book. He'd doodled in the margins – and was quite an artist, she noticed through eyes blurred with regretful tears – and given her little pointers and tips in 'did you know?' type boxes. There was a note in the inside blank page, dated the eleventh of October- the Saturday after Rose and Scorpius had met in the kitchens during a storm.

"Red,

It's not much of a surprise, I know.

Since I told you about it, and all.

But still, maybe you'll have forgotten about our chat by the time it's Christmas.

Oops, maybe not.

Merry Christmas, Rosie Posy, and here's to hoping you won't be as abominable at History of Magic the next time we have an essay to write.

Malfoy."

He'd slipped the milk chocolate bar that he'd bought her that day in Hogsmeade between the pages of the book, as well.

Cursing herself for allowing him to get to her still and cursing him for sending her this gift even after all that had happened, Rose let her tears fall onto the page. They blurred her vision and smudged Scorpius' swirling handwriting, allowing her just a moment of serenity in her blindness. The reality of her circumstances suddenly closed in on her and she was left breathless, clutching the book tightly in both hands. The chocolate and the wrapping paper fell to the floor, and she let them go, experiencing nothing but the overwhelming grief at the friendship – and possible love – that she had most definitely lost.


End file.
